We went to the Parliament house, as well. It has this really cool dome-sculpture thing. Basically, there is a glass dome that people can walk up that is right above the parliament room. The basic idea is transparency. The people can look down and see their MPs at work, and the MPs can look up and see the public and remember that the public comes first.
Berlin is a city with very thought-provoking (sometimes borderline controversial) public art. On one of the buildings (once the Ministry of Ministries - Orwell's 1984 anyone? - for Soviet-era East Berlin/East Germany, now the ministry of finance) there is an old Soviet mural of the idealism of communism. Everyone looks happy, there is gender equality, everyone is well-fed and not overworked. This is contrasted with a large photo from a Berlin protest (in the '70s, I think) against communism. Work quotas went up and pay went down and people were extremely unhappy. This direct contrast between idealism and realism is fantastic.
Another one is an anti-war memorial. It is a sculpture of a woman holding her son, who has died in war. Then buried beneath the memorial is an unknown Nazi soldier and an unknown Holocaust victim - the artist said to show that war affects both sides of a conflict. While I don't really know how I feel about it, the public memorial is very interesting.
Berlin food is really good, too. I lived off of pretzels and streusal for days. And of course, we had bratwurst for dinner one night.
Overall, Berlin is a really cool city. It is interesting to learn about it's troublesome past.
Berlin is a strange city. It is geographically huge (built for 7 million people) but population size, it's pretty small (about 3.5 million) and has a really high unemployment rate. The city itself is interesting, too.
Obviously, it has had a conflicted past - it was the capital of Prussia, the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, and the Third Reich, then was divided after WWII. With a past full of conflicts, Berlin has been rebuilt many times. One of the days, my friends and I did a walking tour of East Berlin (the side that was under Soviet control 1949-1989).
We saw the Jewish Memorial, which is something a little bit strange. It's this lot the size of a city block that has kind of rolling ground with rectangular structures of varying heights. The designer said specifically that there is no interpretation of it, just experience. And it's right in the middle of the city, so you can't be in the city without seeing it. Originally, the memorial was going to be a bus that people could take to see one of the concentration camps outside of Berlin, but it was decided that that would allow people who wanted to forget the past to forget it, but something large and immovable puts it out there.
We saw the largest portion of the wall that remains in Berlin, and we went to the Topography of Terror museum, which gives an in depth history and timeline of Nazi-era Berlin. It was a really well put together museum. It included quotations from historians and people involved in Nazi-era Berlin, as well as copies of documents and letters and things from the men who were in the top tiers of the Nazi party. The museum is literally cast in shadow by part of the wall, so it was like a literal reminder of some of the effects of WWII and the Nazi regime.
It was cool to see the painted sentiments that are still up on the wall. It really makes you think about the fact that families and friends were literally separated from each other, pretty much overnight.
We went to the Aran Islands, which are off the western coast of Ireland, for a couple days, which was pretty fun. We stayed on Inishmore, which is the largest of the three islands - with an area of 12 square miles.
It was interesting to see the really pastoral side of Ireland after staying in Dublin for five days. We walked around the island on the first day and went walking along the tide pools. I got some great shells. We also found some really friendly cows and horses. But no sheep, which is surprising because of the Aran wool. I got some Aran wool (hand knitted) fingerless gloves.
On the second day, we rented bikes and rode along the coast to the cliffs. The area around the cliffs is beautiful, with the really dark blue Atlantic and the really vibrant green grass on the top of the cliffs.
We followed the inland road on the way back into town before catching the ferry (and bus) back to Galway.
Dublin was an excellent introduction to Ireland. My friends and I got to do all the fun touristy (and not-so-touristy) stuff in Dublin.
We walked around Trinity College Dublin, which is where a lot of famous literary men went to school, including Jonathon Swift (Gulliver's Travels and famous excrement poems), Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Grey), and Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot).
We went to the Irish writers museum, which was really interesting. At the time, I was reading James Joyce's The Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Joyce is a very well-known Irish writer - Ulysses, Finnegan's Wake.
We also went to Kilmainham Jail, which is where a lot of the major political prisoners from the 1916 uprising were held (and many were executed here, too). It was interesting to hear more about the history of the Republic of Ireland.
What I am going to miss the most about Dublin, though, is the dark pubs with live Irish music. A couple of my favorite songs that several different bands played are Molly Malone and City of Chicago, which doesn't sound Irish, but it's about the people who immigrated to Chicago during the famine.
My friends and I celebrated my 21st birthday in the only way it should be celebrated - in an Irish fashion, of course. We toured the Guinness storehouse, which was funny because we saw where the water Guinness uses is from just a few days earlier (in Wicklow). Then we toured the Jameson Distillery (and I got to do the whiskey tasting - it's official Jameson is better than Scotch and Jack Daniels).
Dublin was so fun. I really enjoyed this city. And I will have to search for a dark pub with live music in America.
A couple friends and I decided to spend some time in Ireland. Lindsey and I flew out a few days before Mona, and the two of us were spending time in Dublin.
We had literally just checked into our hostel and decided to have lunch by the river. I was eating my sandwich when I hear this splash and look up.
Lindsey was covered in bird crap. Literally everywhere - on the apple she was eating, in her hair, on her coat, on the backpack. We both thought we were going to vomit. So we wiped it up with some tissue and went to McDonald's to wash it out. It was incredibly disturbing, and the smell was atrocious. Needless to say, I did not want that sandwich. I bought McFlurries because it was just that kind of day.
Then, we get back to the hostel and tell the woman at the front desk. She says, oh, you should buy a lottery ticket because that's supposed to be lucky.
We didn't feel very lucky, though.
Lindsey and I did a day trip to Wicklow, where P.S. I Love You (which is a terrible movie) and Braveheart (which I have never seen) were filmed.
It was beautiful. Everything was just amazing. And, we saw the river that Guinness gets its water supply from.
A guy owns a private lake - affectionately nicknamed the Guinness Lake because it looks like a pint of Guinness.
*All photos are from The Sun's Web site. All are linked to the Web pages where the story appears.
It has been really cool to be in London during this election. It was a lot of firsts for the country. The first parliamentary debates. Ever. Possibly the first time in over a decade that the Tories will be in power. The first time a Lib-Dem got a decent amount of support. Very exciting stuff.
My friends and I watched the debates, which were quite interesting. The first couple were so game show-y. Needless to say, it would make for great drinking game material. Between Gordon Brown's awkward smile and breathing tic and saying "Nick Clegg agrees with me," and David Cameron talking about spending cuts no matter what the original question was, it was fun to watch. Unlike the American debates, all three candidates were well spoken and competent. We agreed with the British public though, in thinking that Nick Clegg came off the most personal.
And thanks to Clegg, it became a hung parliament for the first time in 36 years. Cameron has invited Clegg to join together and make a Tory-Lib Dem coalition government.
And the headline writing here is phenomenal. First I saw one "Scrambled Clegg and Toast," and I thought that was funny. The Brits love their puns. But then I saw today's Sun headline and front page.
Gotta love British headlines.
Oh and the British don't understand American politics in terms of the fact that sometimes it just doesn't make any sense at all. Healthcare reform, for instance.
Some British editorials question how Americans don't understand that they'll get benefits for what they are paying for. Social Security, anyone? Also, it's annoying how the word Socialism has become basically a 'fightin' word,' and yet the same people don't question the validity of Social Security, the U.S. Postal Service or highways.
I had a nice chat with the British guy who sat across the aisle from me on the Eurostar. He didn't believe that the American public actually listened to the Neo-Cons (Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and the like) as actual news until I told him the sad truth.
And you know what? Rush hasn't bought his ticket to Costa Rica, yet. He said if healthcare passed he would move there. However, he didn't realize that Costa Rica has universal healthcare (so does Hawaii, ironically). He would basically have to move to central Africa to be in a country without healthcare.
Obviously there needs to be a major overhaul and change to the medical system in general, but finally, America is headed in the right direction. And Britain and other countries are applauding the change, while still trying to understand why some Americans don't want healthcare.
In the Lancet Journal April 3, 2010, edition, an article attempts to explain the differences between Americans and Europeans on the healthcare issue.
"Americans, unlike most Europeans, believe that a basic right is the freedom to choose, whereas to have health coverage is a reward that should be earned (through work)."
I may be wrong, but I don't think most people choose to be poor, to be uninsured or to have an existing medical condition. Apparently writers at The Economist have similar views.
The Economist March 18, 2010, edition, also applauded America for taking a step in the right direction.
"This newspaper loathes needless government intervention. But it also thinks that it is wrong for a country as rich as America to have tens of millions of people without health insurance. Beyond them is the much larger number of people who fear falling into that position through losing their jobs; and the larger number again who cannot get affordable coverage because they have an existing medical condition, or because they are too old, or because they have exhausted the 'lifetime caps' imposed by insurance companies."
Now, if only all Americans could think as rationally as the writers of The Economist.
The last two days in Paris was, again, a strange mix of events.
There is nothing more iconically (yes, that is a real word) French than the Eiffel Tower, and there is nothing more iconically pop culture than knowing that the Moulin Rouge is not just a movie, but an actual cabaret in the Montmartre part of Paris.
Between the Eiffel Tower, the Musee d'Orsay, the Moulin Rouge and the Parisian red-light district, it was a lively tour of very different arenas of French culture.
You literally can't go to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower from almost every part of the city. It is, by law, the tallest building in Paris. Unfortunately, the top level was closed. Again. I have been up the Eiffel Tower twice and both times the top was closed.
But it was still cool. It was super-hazy, but the view was still amazing.
It is not actually surrounded by parks. There are quite a few around it, but a major street, the Champs de Mars, runs literally right next to the tower.
Not surprisingly, I finished my Hemingway book in like three or four days. So, I picked up a book of F. Scott Fitzgerald short stories along the way. So even though I'm not in class, I am learning plenty.
Also, speaking of learning and culture, I went to the Musee d'Orsay while I was in Paris. It literally houses paintings that were inspired and painted outside just meters away on the banks of the Seine. There were so many Monet's and Manet's and Cezanne's and van Gogh's. It was incredible.
Now to jump to the red-light district. There is actually a logical link in this jump, as well. While Manet's famous Olympia painting depicts a prostitute, I walked in the area (in the morning, mind you, so it was pretty deserted) where the sex trade inhabits Paris. The famous red-light district. Also, prostitution is legal in France and a majority of Europe, but only eight countries regulate it. Just as a side note.
Anyway, I wanted to see the Moulin Rouge. I mean the movie is pretty famous. The red-light district really isn't bad, at least in the morning. There are sex shops on both sides of the street for blocks and blocks, but the Moulin Rouge is a pretty cool building.
Anyway, this whole Parisian adventure took place during the Iceland volcanic disaster. I mean honestly, you never hear about that country, but in the last year it has made international headlines for a complete economic breakdown and the volcano that disrupted air traffic in Europe, yet Iceland's airport could remain open. Very dodgy if you ask me.
Well, I was panicking because I thought my flight was going to be cancelled or severely delayed, and I had to finish up a paper and take an exam in a few days. So anyway, I was able to find one of the last tickets for the Eurostar from Paris to London. Thank god because, as I later found out, the Eurostar was booked solid for over a week. So I paid too much for a ticket home, but I did get to ride in first class with full meal service and unlimited drinks.
And I talked politics (American and British) with a British guy who was worse off than me. He had been in New York when the disaster epic proportions, aka Iceland, took place. He said he had to fly to Toronto, then fly to Rome, then train to Paris, then train to London to surprise his girlfriend, who thought he was still stuck in New York, for her birthday. So my inconvenience is slight compared to some, but still, stupid Iceland. And not to worry, more on British (and possibly American) politics in the near future. The British debates/election did just take place after all.
Anyway, I didn't let Iceland ruin the city of Paris for me. I love Paris. It will definitely be a city that I make multiple return trips to. I feel like no matter how many times a person goes to Paris, you see new things every time.
"There is never an ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. . . Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it." Hemingway's A Moveable Feast
The next couple days in Paris were great. The sun was out everyday. I even got a little bit of a tan.
Anyway, the friend I was travelling with is a Jim Morrison fan, and she wanted to see his grave. I have absolutely no idea why he is buried in Paris, but whatever. I didn't really feel like going to try to find his grave, so I wandered about the cemetery and took some great photos. It wasn't like your everyday cemetery. It was really big, and there were a lot of the mausoleums, and a few famous people (Eugène Delacroix) are buried there, and clearly a bunch of wealthy families.
We ended up moving to a different hostel because Mona accidentally booked a separate hostel because another one of our friends were joining us for the last few days in Paris.
Anyway, our second hostel was in Montmartre, up near the Basilidue du Sacré-Cœur. We walked through Sacré-Cœur and climbed up it. Lots of stairs but excellent view. The only problem was Iceland. The volcanic ash made it a little hazy.
We went to the Louvre; you can't go to Paris without going to the Louvre. We got to see some great Italian Renaissance paintings and Greco-Roman sculpture. Some people say that the Mona Lisa is not as impressive as you'd think, especially because of the size of the painting. This really annoys me. I guess if you don't know about the history of the piece or the complexity of the what it accomplishes, you just shouldn't say anything. Sorry for the slight rant, but honestly.
The next two things have to be seen while in Paris, but really they aren't that impressive: the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. Unfortunately for my two friends who had never been to Paris, the Arc de Triomphe was getting cleaned so it was covered with scaffolding, but I did get some good pictures of it the first time I was in Paris.
